An Unexpected Love
by garber1884
Summary: The story of Jack Bristow's parents.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Alias characters. I just love to write about them.

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**Chapter 1**

"I don't see why all of us have to go to this banquet. Goodness knows I can think of plenty of other things to do with my evening then to spend it with a bunch of daddy's stuffy old CIA friends." Helen Marrisfield complained as her mother laid her gown out on the bed.

"We've already talked about this. It's important that we be there to support your father. The proudest moment is when any director can bring one of his agents to Washington to officially be named a senior officer."

"But still, you know most of the people that are going to be there."

"You'd know a few of them too if you hadn't stayed home all of those other times either reading, practicing your piano, or doing whatever else you do in your free time."

"I probably had more fun than you did sitting on the sidelines with the other wives."

Her mother cast her one of those looks. She should have known better that she wouldn't have won this argument in the first place. As she was getting older, she was finding that what she wanted from life was much different than the ones her parents had envisioned for her. Just last summer, her best friend Marie married John Winkler, the son of a very prestigious politician in San Francisco. It seemed so weird that at sixteen, her best friend was already someone's wife. Surely that was never going to happen to her. There was so much she wanted to do with her life before she would even consider marriage. And nothing her parents could do would change her mind.

"Alright then," Helen finally consented. "I'll go to the banquet, but just to hear daddy's speech. Once it's finished, I'll have Jameson bring me home.

"I have always said it is a very rare to find a young man who is so dedicated and so passionate about their duty to their country. Tonight I present him to you as the newest senior member of the Lost Angeles firm. I am personally honored to have had the opportunity to be a mentor to such a fine young talent. And it is my hope that in his new position, he will find success far beyond anything imaginable. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Robert Bristow."

The room thundered with applause as a young man of twenty three stood and shook the hand of his boss, his mentor as he took his place in front of the podium. As Helen sat at the table and observed, she couldn't get over how this Mr. Bristow sat up there so stoned faced. He showed absolutely no emotion as her father presented him to his superiors. If she hadn't caught that brief break in his face, she would have sworn it was frozen in that position. But one thing she had to hand to this stone cold statue of a man, he certainly knew how to make himself look elegant. Never in her life had she ever seen eyes that were as brown as his were. The soft sound of his voice literally cast a spell over the other daughters in the room. She looked away for a moment and noticed two girls literally drooling over every word that came out of his mouth. Honestly girls and their puppy love crushes. Helen knew with that kind of mannerism it would literally be a cold day in Hades before any man would ever take them seriously. When she finally managed to return from her sidetracks, Robert's speech had ended.

_"Well," _she thought. _"There's no reason for me to stick around anymore." _

She pulled her wrap over her shoulders and quickly made her escape. As she headed down the stairs, a young man suddenly blocked her path. She could smell the alcohol all over him.

"Hiya sweetheart." The man said as he drained the glass in his hand.

She tried to push him out of her way, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey baby where ya going? The night's still young."

There was no one around that Helen could see who could possibly hear her cries for help. Suddenly she felt herself being pushed against the wall. He had managed to pin her arms behind her back. Just as he was about to lean in and begin his assault, his eyes seemed to double in size as someone was pulling his tie behind his neck. She looked up and saw Robert Bristow pulling the man closer to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!!!" he roared pulling the man within inches of his face.

"Hey buddy, who said you could interrupt? My baby and I were just about to have some fun."

With as much force as he could muster, Robert threw him against the same wall that Helen had been pinned to moments ago.

"Peter!" Robert roared. "Get this piece of garbage out of here before I make him part of this wall."

Helen noticed another man coming towards them. Robert loosened his grip as Peter seized him and proceeded to take him outside.

"Are you alright?" he asked turning his attention back towards Helen. There was a brief pause.

"Yes." she finally managed to answer.

"I'll be sure to report him to his superiors just as soon as I'm able."

"You know him?"

"Matt Preston. A regular twit if you ask me. But then again, most of the people who work in analysis are."

"Thank you Mr. Bristow for what you did." Helen said her voice barely audible. She was still a bit shaken that she had almost been accosted right there on the stairwell.

"I don't believe that we've been properly introduced. I'm Robert Bristow."

"Helen...Helen Marrisfield."

He took her hand in his and gently placed a kiss upon it. She swallowed hard as her eyes met his. Time seemed to stand still as she beheld the man before her. Helen had barely known him, but there was something about him, something that touched her very soul. Many of the men who sought desperately in the past to win her affections were nothing compared to him. Her breath caught in her throat as she examined every detail about her rescuer. The giant grandfather clock chimed the hour and Helen knew that she should be getting home. But the thing of it was she didn't want to go. For if she left now, she was certain she'd never be this close to Robert ever again.

"Well I guess I should be heading home. Thank you again Mr. Bristow for everything. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you."

"Helen." he called.

She turned toward him and noticed that he was coming towards her.

"If you have no objections, may I escort you home?"

Helen couldn't help but to say yes.


	2. Chapter 2

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) _Rhapsody on a Theme from Paganini_

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**Chapter 2**

The next morning, Helen awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her bedroom window. Looking at the clock besides her dresser, she found that she had slept half of the morning away. She reached for her robe at the end of the bed and clumsily threw it over her shoulders.

"Oh miss forgive me. I didn't mean to wake you." Annette said coming out of her closet.

"You didn't."

"I was just putting your dress away from last evening. A couple of the stitchings had come loose and needed repair."

Annette's explanation caused her to remember the events of last evening, a night that she hoped she would soon forget. Thankfully her parents knew nothing of the incident on the stairwell. Her mother probably would have come out of her skin if she knew her little girl had almost succumbed to the desires of a drunken man. But then she remembered Robert Bristow and how he had come to her rescue. She remembered that they spoke very little as he escorted her home. But just as she concluded last night, Robert was never going to step back into her life again. So why was she worrying about trying to shed light on the inner workings of the man? Maybe because it was that he intrigued her so much. How he found the grace in his heart to save a complete stranger. There were so many questions racing through her mind that she soon found herself feeling the onsets of a headache. That was nothing like a bit of piano music to calm the nerves.

Robert pulled up the long driveway of the Marrisfield's house. There were a few things Henry wanted to go over with him before the start of the work week and so he was invited for lunch. Next week he'd start his position as senior officer. But why did he have to be put in charge of the new transferees from the Washington office? Goodness knows they would be a handful of trouble and he was definitely not looking forward to babysitting a bunch of boy scouts just out of their training pants. But on the other hand, he couldn't very well disappoint Mr. Marrisfield. After all, he was the first person in his entire life who ever believed in him. Goodness knows his family thought he was foolish working for the government. His aunt told him once that his mother and father would be turning over in their graves if they only knew what he had become. He swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat and stepped out of the car. The Marrisfield house was certainly large. It reminded him of something out of a fairy tale novel. Everything was so peaceful, like time had passed and somehow left this place behind. He waked to the door and rang the bell.

"Oh Mr. Bristow do please come in," Annette greeted him. "May I take your coat?"

"Yes thank you." He replied allowing the older woman to pull it from his shoulders.

"Mr. Marrisfield instructed me to tell you that he would return just as soon as possible. He had to take Mrs. Marrisfield to the train station. Apparently her mother has taken a bit ill."

"I'm so very sorry to hear that."

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable in the sitting room. I'm sure Mr. Marrisfield will return any moment now." Annette said before hurrying back to her chores.

Robert was left alone in the hallway. Just then he heard the soft sounds of what sounded like piano music coming from the sitting room. It was a beautiful haunting melody. He figured that Annette must have liked to have music to keep her company while everyone was away during the day. Just as he was about to step into the room, he stopped frozen in his tracks. It wasn't a record at all, but rather it was Helen who was playing the piano. He was transfixed on the way her fingers danced about the keys so gracefully and the gentleness of her voice as she hummed the melody she was playing. Last night as he was walking her home from the reception, he couldn't find the words to tell her how much he hoped he could see her again. In those brief moments he spent with her after he rescued her, there was nothing about this young woman that hadn't managed in some way to stir every fiber of his being. It was true that he had many relationships in the past, but none of those other women had managed to touch the very depths of his soul just simply by looking at him. And even now just watching her, it was unlike anything he had ever seen or felt before. Suddenly a creak from a floor board alerted Helen of his presence. She jumped and nearly slammed the lid for the piano keys on her fingers.

"Please don't stop." Robert begged.

Helen realized that she was still in her evening wear and tried desperately to make herself look presentable with the clothing she had on.

"Mr. Bristow…what…what a surprise. Don't mind me, I was just fooling around."

"Robert." he encouraged. Helen seemed a bit bewildered by the sudden randomness of his statement.

"Thank you so much for the formality, but Mr. Bristow makes me sound so old. You may call me Robert if you wish."

This was only their second meeting after all and already he was giving her permission to call him by his first name. She couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. Her father had explained to her on the way to the reception that one of the reasons he chose Robert to be a senior officer and his assistant was because of his unique ability to be able to read someone's thoughts simply by looking at them. Her father said with a man such as that, there would be nothing to escape his ever watchful eyes.

"That was beautiful what you were playing just now. What is it called?" he asked stirring her from distraction.

"Rhapsody on a Theme from Paganini by the Russian composer Rachmaninoff. It was one of the first pieces I ever learned how to play."

"You sure do know plenty about classical music don't you?"

"I'm actually studying to be concert pianist. I have those days sometimes when I think to myself why in the world I ever thought that someday people might enjoy the music I would one day play."

"I don't know about other people, but I enjoyed it very much."

"Well you're the first person other than my family to say that Mr. Bristow…I mean Robert." She corrected herself. He just smiled and shook his head.

"I'm very sorry to hear about your grandmother's recent illness."

"Thank you. My grandmother is a very stubborn little old lady. There are those times when she gets these ideas in her head and either my mother or my Aunt Jane have to coax her down from the rafters."

"She sounds like a very "spirited" woman." Robert replied with a smile.

"You don't know the half of it." They both shared a laugh.

"I take it you're here to see my father?"

_"Of course he is." her mind reminded her._

"He invited me to join him for lunch. There's a few things he wishes to go over with me before the big day on Monday."

"With everything that happened last night, I forgot to wish you all the success with your new position. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful senior officer. Someone who the other agents can look up to for leadership and guidance. I'm sure these young men and women will be very honored to work for someone with a reputation such as your own."

"I'm sure they will be." Robert replied turning his gaze slightly from her. Those words were truly spoken from the heart. Finally, someone who didn't see him as an arrogant bastard or a failure.

_How refreshing it was to be around someone like her _his mind told him.

Just then they heard the sounds of a car engine coming up the driveway.

"My father must be home."

"Helen...I mean Ms. Marrisfield..." he began.

"Now look who's being formal." she threw back at him.

"My business with your father shouldn't be all that time consuming. I was hoping that if you had no reservations, that you might join us for lunch." Her heart skipped a beat.

"I'd be happy to. Just let me go change into something a little more decent."


End file.
